The Palace of the Shirvanshahs is a great monument, located in the Inner City of Baku, Azerbaijan. The construction of the monument is representative of the Shirvan-Absheron style of the Azerbaijani architecture.
The Palace of the Shirvanshahs hosts the main building of the palace, Divanhane, the shahs’s mosque with a minaret, as well as the Seyid Yahya Bakuvi’s mausoleum, the Murad’s gate, a reservoir and a bath house.
History of the palace brings up conflicting issues about what the Palace originally served as.
One of the theories states that the building was built with the idea of being a memorial complex and a tomb of the Helwati Sufi saint Seyyid Yahya Bakuvi. Another theory claims that the purpose of the building was to serve as the ruler’s palace. None of the theories have been entirely proven although it is well known that the wells located within the palace and the hill on which it is situated is considered to have healing powers.
Thе two-storey main building of the Palace was established by Shirvanshah Sheykh Ibrahim I in 1411, numbering over fifty different outlines of the constructions, all of which are connected to three winding staircases. The main building has a large portal that leads directly from the courtyard to the second floor into an octahedral lodging. Behind it there is another octagonal vestibule through which the lodging is associated with the rest of the lodgings in the building.
Divankhana is located in a courtyard which is enclosed on three sides by a gallery-arcade. The Divankhana represents a small stone pavilion that includes an octahedral hall which inside and outside is covered by a stone cupola. The main entrance portal is interestingly depicted with an ornament and Arabic inscriptions.
The Palace Mosque is located in the lower court of the building, including two chapels for prayers as well as several small subsidiary rooms. The chapels consist of two halls, a large one for men and a small one for women.
The Seyid Yahya Bakuvi’s Mausoleum is octahedral shaped, located in the southern part of the Palace. On the south, east and west sides of the Mausoleum there are three small lancet windows with a stone bar-shabaka.
The Murad’s gate also known as the portal of Eastern Gates was established during the Ottoman occupation of 1585-1603 which makes it one of the latest built constructions in the Palace of Shirvanshahs.
The Bath-house was found in 1939 and according to the excavations consists of 26 rooms all of which covered with cupolas.
Since 1964 the Shirvanshahs’ Palace has been recognized as a museum.
Address:
Palace of the Shirvanshahs
Zamkovskaya Side-street
76 Baku
Azerbaijan
Tel: 92 10 73
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